Nick: Created page with "{{Italic title}} ''Jerome'' by [[Theodoric of Prague, c. 1370]] '''''De Viris Illustribus''''' (''On Illustrious Men'') is a Latin biobibliographical collection by Jerome completed at Bethlehem in 392–393 AD. It consists of a prologue and 135 chapters, each giving a brief account of an author and a list of writings, beginning with figures from the apostolic age and ending with Jerome. Jerome p..."

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Created page with "{{Italic title}} 200 px|thumb|''Jerome'' by [[Theodoric of Prague, c. 1370]] '''''De Viris Illustribus''''' (''On Illustrious Men'') is a Latin biobibliographical collection by Jerome completed at Bethlehem in 392–393 AD. It consists of a prologue and 135 chapters, each giving a brief account of an author and a list of writings, beginning with figures from the apostolic age and ending with Jerome. Jerome p..."

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{{Italic title}}
[[image:Meister Theoderich von Prag 002.jpg|200 px|thumb|''Jerome'' by [[Theodoric of Prague]], c. 1370]]
'''''De Viris Illustribus''''' (''On Illustrious Men'') is a [[Latin]] biobibliographical collection by [[Jerome]] completed at [[Bethlehem]] in 392–393 AD. It consists of a prologue and 135 chapters, each giving a brief account of an author and a list of writings, beginning with figures from the [[apostolic age]] and ending with Jerome.

Jerome presented the book as a Christian counterpart to biographical catalogues associated with [[Suetonius]] and other classical writers, and much of the early material is taken with little alteration from [[Eusebius of Caesarea]]. The work was dedicated to the Roman official [[Nummius Aemilianus Dexter]]. In the preface Jerome casts the collection as an [[Apologetics|apologetic]] defence of Christian learning.

The text circulated widely. It was continued by [[Gennadius of Massilia]] and later by [[Isidore of Seville]], and the three works were often copied together.

== Composition ==
''De Viris Illustribus'' was composed in Latin in 392 and early 393, after Jerome translated [[Origen]]'s ''Homilies on Ezekiel'' and before he wrote his ''Commentary on Ezekiel''. It was written during Jerome's first period of literary activity following his move to [[Bethlehem]].

It was modelled after the works of earlier Greek and Latin authors. In a letter to Desiderius he wrote that he had "written a book on illustrious men from the apostles to our time in imitation of Suetonius and [[Apollonius of Tyana|Apollonius the Greek]]." It reinvented a tradition of biographical collections used by [[Suetonius]] and [[Plutarch]] for a Christian world.

=== Purpose and dedication ===

''De Viris Illustribus'' was dedicated to [[Nummius Aemilianus Dexter]], the son of [[Saint Pacianus]] and a Roman official and a Christian who had encouraged Jerome to create a survey of Christian authors. SanPietro argues that this dedication was a pretext for Jerome to disguise his real intentions

It was written as an [[Apologetics|apologetic]] work to demonstrate the accomplishments of prominent Christian authors, with Jerome including himself among them, at a time when Christian writing was seen as inferior. In the preface Jerome states that he aims "to do for [Christian] writers what [Suetonius] did for the illustrious men of letters among the Gentiles", reinforcing this a few lines later where he states his desire to create a collection similar to [[Cicero]]'s ''[[Brutus (Cicero)|Brutus]]'', covering the Christian writers whose texts "founded, built, and adorned the Church".

=== Audience ===
The intended audience of ''De Viris Illustribus'' was the educated classes of the Mediterranean. Whiting describes it as a reference text for intra-Christian disputes, intended to "inform those who had no time to read extensively or had no thorough knowledge of Greek".

==Contents==

=== Summary ===
''De Viris Illustribus'' is a biobibliography covering four centuries of primarily Christian writers running from the [[Apostolic Age|apostolic age]] to Jerome himself. The first seventy-eight chapters are copied with minimal changes from [[Eusebius]]' ''[[Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius)|Historia ecclesiastica]]'', while the last fifty-seven chapters reflect Jerome's own research.''

The entries vary in length, from brief notices to longer entries. They are all under 500 words long and follow a set pattern: the author's name, a short identification of their office or status, and a list of writings.

The notices are usually bibliographical rather than [[Hagiography|hagiographical]], but some refer to hagiographic legends associated with figures already venerated as saints. Jerome uses the work to denigrate authors he did not approve of and praise those he did. He knew some of the subjects personally or had read their works, while others were virtually unknown to him.

The subjects are mainly Christian writers, with Jerome explaining his criteria as having "published anything memorable on the Holy Scriptures from the time of [[Jesus|Christ]]'s passing down to the 14th year of the emperor [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]]". They are largely figures Jerome treats as reputable and [[Orthodoxy|orthodox]], though he also includes authors he considers [[Heterodoxy|heterodox]].

In the preface he describes the book as a catalogue of Christian men who were philosophers, eloquent, or learned, but he does not apply that description consistently, describing the writing of some authors such as [[Fortunatianus of Aquileia|Fortunatianus]] as "rustic".

=== Subjects ===
Listed below are the subjects of Jerome's 135 biographies. The numbers given are the chapter numbers found in editions.

*1. [[Saint Peter|Simon Peter]]
*2. [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]]
*3. [[Matthew the Apostle|Matthew]]
*4. [[Jude the Apostle|Jude]]
*5. [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]
*6. [[Barnabas]]
*7. [[Luke the Evangelist|Luke]]
*8. [[Mark the Evangelist|Mark]]
*9. [[John the Evangelist|John]]
*10. [[Hermas (freedman)|Hermas]]
*11. [[Philo|Philo the Jew]]
*12. [[Seneca the Younger|Lucius Annaeus Seneca]]
*13. [[Josephus]]
*14. [[Justus of Tiberias|Justus]]
*15. [[Pope Clement I|Clement]]
*16. [[Ignatius of Antioch]]
*17. [[Polycarp]]
*18. [[Papias of Hierapolis|Papias]]
*19. [[Quadratus of Athens|Quadratus]]
*20. [[Aristides of Athens|Aristides]]
*21. [[Agrippa Castor|Agrippa]]
*22. [[Hegesippus (chronicler)|Hegesippus]]
*23. [[Justin Martyr|Justin]]
*24. [[Melito of Sardis|Melito of Asia]]
*25. [[Theophilus of Antioch|Theophilus]]
*26. [[Apollinaris Claudius|Apollinaris]]
*27. [[Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth|Dionysius of Corinth]]
*28. [[Pinytus|Pinytus of Crete]]
*29. [[Tatian]]
*30. [[Philip of Gortyna|Philip of Crete]]
*31. [[Musanus]]
*32. [[Modestus (apologete)|Modestus]]
*33. [[Bardaisan|Bardesanes of Mesopotamia]]
*34. [[Pope Victor I|Victor]]
*35. [[Irenaeus]]
*36. [[Pantaenus]]
*37. [[Rhodo]]
*38. [[Clement of Alexandria|Clemens]]
*39. [[Pope Miltiades|Miltiades]]
*40. [[Apollonius the Apologist|Apollonius]]
*41. [[Serapion of Antioch|Serapion]]
*42. [[Apollonius of Ephesus|Apollonius]]
*43. [[Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea|Theophilus]]
*44. [[Bacchylus]]
*45. [[Polycrates of Ephesus|Polycrates]]
*46. [[Heraclitus (bishop)|Heraclitus]]
*47. [[Maximus II of Jerusalem|Maximus]]
*48. [[Candidus (theologian)|Candidus]]
*49. [[Appion (theologian)|Appion]]
*50. [[Sextus (theologian)|Sextus]]
*51. [[Arabianus]]
*52. [[Judas (theologian)|Judas]]
*53. [[Tertullian]]
*54. [[Origen]]
*55. [[Ammonius Saccas|Ammonius]]
*56. [[Ambrose of Alexandria|Ambrose]]
*57. [[Trypho (theologian)|Trypho]]
*58. [[Marcus Minucius Felix|Minucius Felix]]
*59. [[Pope Caius|Gaius]]
*60. [[Beryllus of Bostra|Beryllus]]
*61. [[Hippolytus of Rome|Hippolytus]]
*62. [[Alexander of Cappadocia and Jerusalem|Alexander of Cappadocia]]
*63. [[Sextus Julius Africanus|Julius Africanus]]
*64. [[Geminus of Antioch|Geminus]]
*65. [[Gregory Thaumaturgus|Theodorus (Gregory of Neocaesarea)]]
*66. [[Pope Cornelius|Cornelius]]
*67. [[Cyprian|Cyprian of Africa]]
*68. [[Pontius of Carthage|Pontius]]
*69. [[Pope Dionysius of Alexandria|Dionysius of Alexandria]]
*70. [[Novatianus]]
*71. [[Malchion]]
*72. [[Archelaus (bishop of Carrhae)|Archelaus]]
*73. [[Anatolius of Alexandria]]
*74. [[Victorinus of Pettau|Victorinus]]
*75. [[Pamphilus of Caesarea|Pamphilus the Presbyter]]
*76. [[Pierius]]
*77. [[Lucian of Antioch|Lucianus]]
*78. [[Phileas and Philoromus|Phileas]]
*79. [[Arnobius]]
*80. [[Lactantius|Firmianus (Lactantius)]]
*81. [[Eusebius of Caesarea]]
*82. [[Reticius]]
*83. [[Methodius of Olympus|Methodius]]
*84. [[Juvencus]]
*85. [[Eustathius of Antioch|Eustathius]]
*86. [[Marcellus of Ancyra|Marcellus]]
*87. [[Athanasius]]
*88. [[Anthony the Great|Anthony]]
*89. [[Basil of Ancyra]]
*90. [[Theodorus (bishop of Heraclea in Thrace)|Theodorus]]
*91. [[Eusebius of Emesa]]
*92. [[Triphylius]]
*93. [[Donatus Magnus|Donatus]]
*94. [[Asterius the Sophist|Asterius]]
*95. [[Lucifer of Cagliari]]
*96. [[Eusebius of Vercelli|Eusebius of Sardinia]]
*97. [[Fortunatianus of Aquileia]]
*98. [[Acacius of Caesarea|Acacius]]
*99. [[Sacramentary of Serapion of Thmuis|Serapion]]
*100. [[Hilary of Poitiers|Hilary]]
*101. [[Gaius Marius Victorinus|Victorinus]]
*102. [[Titus of Bostra|Titus]]
*103. [[Pope Damasus I|Damasus]]
*104. [[Apollinaris of Laodicea|Apollinaris]]
*105. [[Gregory of Elvira]]
*106. [[Pacianus]]
*107. [[Photinus]]
*108. [[Phoebadius of Agen|Phoebadius]]
*109. [[Didymus the Blind|Didymus]]
*110. [[Saint Optatus|Optatus]]
*111. [[Acilius Severus (writer)|Acilius Severus]]
*112. [[Cyril of Jerusalem]]
*113. [[Euzoius of Caesarea|Euzoius]]
*114. [[Epiphanius of Salamis|Epiphanius]]
*115. [[Ephrem the Syrian|Ephraim]]
*116. [[Basil of Caesarea]]
*117. [[Gregory of Nazianzen]]
*118. [[Lucius of Alexandria|Lucius]]
*119. [[Diodorus of Tarsus|Diodorus]]
*120. [[Eunomius]]
*121. [[Priscillianus]]
*122. [[Latronianus]]
*123. [[Tiberianus of Baetica|Tiberianus]]
*124. [[Ambrose of Milan]]
*125. [[Evagrius of Antioch|Evagrius]]
*126. [[Ambrose of Alexandria|Ambrose, disciple of Didymus]]
*127. [[Archbishop Maximus I of Constantinople|Maximus]]
*128. [[Gregory of Nyssa]]
*129. [[John Chrysostom|John the presbyter]]
*130. [[Gelasius of Caesarea|Gelasius]]
*131. [[Theotimos (bishop of Tomi)|Theotimus]]
*132. [[Flavius Dexter|Dexter]]
*133. [[Amphilochius of Iconium|Amphilochius]]
*134. [[Sophronius (theologian)|Sophronius]]
*135. [[Jerome]] the presbyter

=== Final chapter on Jerome ===
At the conclusion of ''De Viris Illustribus'', Jerome provided his own biography as the latest example of the scholarly work of Christians. In Chapter 135, Jerome summarized his career to date:

:I, Jerome, son of Eusebius, of the city of Strido, which is on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia and was overthrown by the Goths, up to the present year, that is, the fourteenth of the Emperor Theodosius, have written the following: ''Life of Paul the monk'', one book of ''Letters'' to different persons, an ''Exhortation to Heliodorus'', ''Controversy of Luciferianus and Orthodoxus'', ''Chronicle of universal history'', ''28 homilies of Origen on Jeremiah and Ezekiel'', which I translated from Greek into Latin, ''On the Seraphim'', ''On Osanna'', ''On the Prudent and the Prodigal Sons'', ''On Three Questions of the Ancient Law'', ''Homilies on the Song of Songs two'', ''Against Helvidius'', ''On the perpetual virginity of Mary'', ''To Eustochius'', ''On Maintaining Virginity'', one book of ''Epistles to Marcella'', a consolatory letter to Paula ''On the Death of a Daughter'', three books of ''Commentaries on the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians'', likewise three books of ''Commentaries on the Epistle to the Ephesians'', ''On the Epistle to Titus'' one book, ''On the Epistle to Philemon'' one, ''Commentaries on Ecclesiastes'', one book of ''Hebrew questions on Genesis'', one book ''On places in Judea'', one book of ''Hebrew names'', ''Didymus on the Holy Spirit'', which I translated into Latin one book, ''39 homilies on Luke'', ''On Psalms 10 to 16'', seven books, ''On the captive Monk'', ''The Life of the blessed Hilarion''. I translated the New Testament from the Greek, and the Old Testament from the Hebrew, and how many Letters I have written To Paula and Eustochium I do not know, for I write daily. I wrote moreover, two books of ''Explanations on Micah'', one book ''On Nahum'', two books ''On Habakkuk'', one ''On Zephaniah'', one ''On Haggai'', and many others On the prophets, which are not yet finished, and which I am still at work upon.

Whiting argues that the entry functioned as a catalogue of Jerome's writings, allowing correspondents to request copies they lacked.

== Reception and influence ==

''De Viris Illustribus'' circulated widely soon after its completion, becoming the most influential Christian biographical collection and defining a canon of knowledge that could be expanded and augmented. It was used as a reference work in intra-Christian debate but was criticised for including heretics, including by [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] in 398.

The work was continued and revised, most notably by [[Gennadius of Massilia|Gennadius of Marseilles]] in the fifth century and [[Isidore of Seville]] in the seventh, and the three texts circulated as a single corpus. It influenced later biobibliographical compilations and its material was repurposed in other contexts''.''

In the sixth century Cassiodorus recommended reading Jerome's work alongside its continuation by Gennadius. Bede, a [[Northumbria|Northumbrian]] monk, later treated its completion as a sacred event, writing "Jerome, the translator of sacred history, wrote a book about the most illustrious men of the Church".

By the ninth century collations of ''De Viris Illustribus'' and its continuations were used as lists in monastic libraries to check their holdings. McKitterick argues that the text was important in the formation and organisation of library catalogues and collections and contributed to a "book-based" way of thinking about the past while Whiting argues that it was used to help identify forgeries. It remained relevant even after many of the works covered by the text were lost, acting as a record of what had been written as well as what should be read.

The work continued to circulate in the twelfth century and was a model for a revival of the bio-bibliographic genre.
===Modern scholarship===
Modern scholarship has criticised ''De Viris Illustribus'' as rushed and incomplete, being flattering and insulting depending on the subject and Jerome's opinion of them, as well as self-aggrandising in the final chapter.

Kelly describes it as a "propagandist history" and criticises its reliance on Eusebius, arguing that Jerome at times misunderstood or mistranslated him. Langelaar et al. describe the intent as to "develop a Christian vision of history and to appropriate the past of the Roman Empire".

SanPietro argues that it worked to transmit orthodoxy, with Jerome creating it by working backwards from a list of works he believed should be included in Christianity's intellectual foundation.

== Editions ==
*[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf203.v.i.html Jerome and Gennadius: ''Lives of Illustrious Men''], English translation by [[Ernest Cushing Richardson]]
*[http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/books/hieronym/viris_l.htm Jerome's ''De Viris Illustribus'': Latin text] (includes an informative introduction, in Latin)
*[http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/books/hieronym/viris_g.htm Jerome's ''De Viris Illustribus'': Greek version]

==Notes==

==References==
*[https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm ''De Viris Illustribus (On Illustrious Men)''] - Full English version.
*The ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', Published 1910 in New York by Robert Appleton Company.

==External links==
*[http://virtualreligion.net/primer/jerome.html Jerome's ''De Viris Illustribus'' of Matthew, Mark, Luke]
*[https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06417a.htm ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': Gennadius of Marseilles] (continuator of Jerome's ''De viris illustribus'')
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[[Category:4th-century Christian texts]]
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De Viris Illustribus (Jerome) - Revision history